Russian Church in America marks 400th anniversary of Romanov dynasty

The main events of the celebration were held in the Cathedral of the Icon of Our Lady of the Sign in New York City

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NEW YORK, June 19 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia /ROCOR/ has marked the 400th anniversary since accession of the Romanov dynasty to the Russian throne.

The main events of the celebration were held in the Cathedral of the Icon of Our Lady of the Sign in New York City. Tuesday night, a remembrance vespers service for the late czars and emperors of Russia was held there.

The solemn service was conducted by ROCOR’s Supreme Hierarch, Metropolitan Hillarion, and the Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate’s parishes in the U.S., Archbishop Justin of Naro-Fominsk.

The congregation included activists of the organizations of Russian fellow-countrymen, representatives of the U.S. public quarters, the successors of Russian noble families who emigrated to the U.S. after the Bolshevik revolution of November 1917, and diplomats of the Russian Federation.

After the service, a gala party organized by ROCOR and Russia’s Consulate General in New York was held in the cathedral. An exhibition featuring Russia during the Romanovs’ rule /from 1613 through to 1917/ that was organized by the Federal Service for Relations with Compatriots Abroad /Rossotrudnichestvo/ was opened in its halls.

It is really impossible to overestimate the role that the Romanov dynasty played in the fostering and disseminating of the Eastern Orthodox Christianity that made up the backbone of Russian statehood, Metropolitan Hillarion told Itar-Tass in an exclusive interview.

One feels particularly glad today upon seeing the rebirth of olden Orthodox tradition in today’s Russia and the way that the rank-and-file citizens and the country’s leadership hold the history of their great homeland in esteem, he said, adding that a testimony to this is found in the all-Russia span of celebrations devoted to the 400th anniversary of the Romanovs dynasty.